TRYING to use Delta Skymiles with Partner Airlines!

[cwistyred]

HELP!

 

Maybe it's just me, but I am having a real issue with Delta. We have a cruise booked for April and I am attempting to use Skymiles to get to Rome. Delta has terrible flights available for the trip - 2 stops and layovers of over 10 hours at each stop. I am a miserable flyer and sitting in an airport waiting for the next flight is a recipe for me running out of the airport screaming. I did some research online and found out you can also fly on Delta's partners who all have much better routes to Rome. Also the miles used should be low according to those in the know. The problem is when you call Delta, the agents I have spoken to want no part of booking this and have literally told me that it's not possible. But it is possible - isn't it?

Any tips from the experts on this website?????

[Fattony]

Where are you flying from? From many cities, two connections doesn't sound bad. Have you tried phoning the U.S. offices (toll free number) of the partner airlines?

[Globaliser]

I did some research online and found out you can also fly on Delta's partners who all have much better routes to Rome. Also the miles used should be low according to those in the know. The problem is when you call Delta, the agents I have spoken to want no part of booking this and have literally told me that it's not possible. But it is possible - isn't it?

In theory, it's possible. But what exactly is the problem? What is "not possible" about it, according to the Delta agents? Have they given you any reason? Have you asked them why it is "not possible"?

 

It's very difficult for us to help you when we have no idea where you are starting from, what your preferred dates of travel are, and how much flexibility you have.

 

The only thing that I can proffer is that, using a random route on random dates in mid-April, I can see no availability for award travel across the Atlantic to Rome on Delta's most likely partners (Air France and KLM). If that's the problem, then that could explain why you're just getting a flat "not possible" from Delta agents. If there are no seats for awards, they can't sell them to you. And if that's the problem, then you'll either have to take the convoluted Delta routings or pay cash for a ticket.

 

It would also be good to know who are these people "in the know" to whom you're talking about this. There are some SkyTeam experts here who will be able to give you very focused advice, but probably only if you can be more specific than just "I want to fly across the Atlantic in April".

[PennyAgain]

Many airines run out of 'miles' seats months in advance. You may have missed your chance to book with partner airlines.

 

Those with experience in booking tickets with miles know to grab what they want as soon as possible.

 

With many airlines you can use MANY extra miles (often double) to get seats. Or other deals that use miles + money.

 

It is also possible that the flights you desire don't have enough miles seats available but you might be able to get one and use money for the other.

[6rugrats]

OP appears to be on a cruise 17 APR - 27 APR. I assume they want to fly from LAX.

 

So, they need LAX-FCO on 16 APR or earlier and I assume FCO-LAX on 27 APR.

 

OP, you can only use your DL miles to book on partner airlines if there are available award seats. I see there are award seats for your dates on DL but at a very high mileage rate (95,000 miles per person), which is usual for DL, especially during popular travel periods.

 

Award availability can be released at any time. Suggest you call DL again and ask them to check for partner availability. And realize that to use miles, you often must accept less than desirable routing.

[cwistyred]

I'm sorry, when I posted this I was just looking for general information regarding websites to check or other people's experiences on how they maneuvered through the system to use their miles. I didn't expect anyone to actually try and figure out what my actual flight choices were. I thank you for that.

I just booked the cruise, so I couldn't have decided on the flights until now.

We are on the Jade sailing on the 17th. We would like to fly to Rome out of LAX or ONT on the 15th. We would like to fly back on May 2nd. I did look at Delta.com and that combination had been low tier miles. I would book that but the 33hr each way is not good for someone who is afraid of flying as much as I am. I would have to stay tranquilized the whole time and that is just not a good idea for me or my husband. I would need several days just to shake off the jetlag and the effect of the pills that I take to get me on the plane.

I was looking at using Alitalia as the partner airline, although I see now through this forum that they are in trouble - again. Would any of you risk it going out of business prior to the trip? Is it not safe from a mechanical point of view?

Any and all opinions are much appreciated.

 

This is probably why I haven't been on a cruise for a few years:o It's work getting a neurotic on a plane.

[kenish]

It looks like you have imposed restrictions on time enroute, departure points, and possibly date/time. You will have to open up these restrictions to find low-mileage reward seats, or the lowest fares if you end up paying.

 

Look at *all* LA-area airports including SNA, LGB, BUR and PSP. Even consider SAN. Though the chances aren't good, you never know. Investigate flying out of one airport and returning to another. Also be flexible on your travel dates and times. FYI, on an international itinerary you can have a stopover of up to 24 hours in most cases....it might be better for example to fly LAX-JFK, stay overnight in New York, then fly to Rome the next day. That might be easier on your flying anxiety.

 

Hope this helps, keep us updated on what you find.

[SFCAcruiser]

... The problem is when you call Delta, the agents I have spoken to want no part of booking this and have literally told me that it's not possible. But it is possible - isn't it?

Any tips from the experts on this website?????

Coincidentally, a well-known frequent flyer blogger (Gary Leff) posted a lengthy blog today (Dec 28) re: using Delta miles. It probably provides more detail than you care to know, but it may be useful or at least interesting reading.

[PennyAgain]

I am an older woman. I often play to have a stay over of one night midst of a long series of flights. It does me a world of good to have a real night's sleep in a nice hotel with a couple of nice meals.

 

Having that one night of real rest, a great shower etc makes up for having to claim my checked bag and all that etc.

 

Pampering yourself along the way on a long trip will help you to arrive for your cruise feeling ready to enjoy the experience.

 

I am ess likely to do the one night stay over when returning home as I don't feel that I need it.

 

Good luck in your travels.

[alcpa1]

I'm a Delta flyer.

The golden rule with Delta is if you don't get the answer you seek via the phone thank the CSR, hang up and try again, and again, and again.

 

Rule 2. You're late in the game for low tier award seats on any of the Delta partners or Delta itself. The partners have limited Delta ff seats.

 

Rule 3. Make sure that layovers at CDG, if flying Air France are at least two or more hours. If flying KLM two hours should work in Amsterdam.

 

Rule 4. Delta hubs to Europe are LA of course, Minneapolis, Atlanta, JFK in New York, and some seasonal flights from Boston. Seasonal may be the optimum word here because April is really pre-season. Look also at Chicago and perhaps Miami. You just have to be creative.

 

Rule 5. Don't book a return connection for customs and immigration at any of the above airports for less than 3 hours.

 

Rule 6. Plan at least a generous hour if connecting to your Rome flight in any US airport. More is better.

 

Rule 7. Don't even think about flying in to FCO the day of your cruise, especially if you have more than one connection.

 

Rule 8. Try online booking one ticket at a time.

 

Rule 9. I too would avoid Alitalia at this point. It's a shame the new alliance with Virgin Atlantic won't have availibility soon enough for you to use points.

 

Rule 10. Check availibility from the other hubs and build your ticket backwards. You might find that there are tickets on one of the partners and you can use Delta for the domestic itineraries. You can link your baggage transfers if you can find a willing baggage handler but be aware that you will then have to comply with the weight/dimension regulations of both carriers. Also be aware that the taxes could be higher using the partner airlines.

 

Good luck, from the bottom of my ff bucket.

[tiggerman101]

You can also try "building" your own route using the multi destionation. Delta allows for stop overs in cities for no additional miles. For instance, last year we wanted to fly from Atl to BCN for a cruise with miles. We realized we could do ATL-Amsterdam-Barcelona for the same price in miles and spend a few nights in Amsterdam. It worked out great and gave us the opportunity to go somewhere else for no additional fees. You might be able to find a route where you can spend the night or so in a city inbetween. Just piece the route together using the Multi-Destionation. It can be a bit cumbersome, but worth it in the end.

[PennyAgain]

Many airlines charge a fee for calling a CSR (Customer Service Representative) repeated calls may result in a lot of fees.

 

They will always tell you if you are about to be chanrged a fee.

[FlyerTalker]

Quick post as I'm quite busy after some vacation time.....

 

From SoCal, you should look at ALL of the various gateways for SkyTeam carriers. This would include LAX, SFO, PDX, SEA and YVR on the west coast. Then, you have SLC, YYC, MSP, DFW, IAH, ORD, DTW, CVG, PIT, YYZ in between. Then you have MIA, ATL, IAD, PHL, NYC, BOS, YUL further east.

 

Is this a lot of work? Yep, especially given your time frame. I would invest in a subscription to either ExpertFlyer or KVS to help your research.

 

Remember that you will NOT find availability on simple, non-stop routings this late in the game, especially from LAX. Try focusing on PDX, using Alaska to get there.

 

Finally, if you find seats across the pond, but can't find seats to that gateway, you can always buy a ticket to/from the gateway, then use miles from there.

[cwistyred]

Thanks again to everyone who posted. I finally got a decent set of stops and starts to Rome from my preferred airport - ONT. After looking daily for weeks I finally settled on trips that were 23 hours coming and going. 80,000 miles each person. 2 stops each way. On the way over I even got first class on the ONT to SEA portion and business class on the CDG to Rome section.

I did really want to try the Economy comfort on the long flights but the upcharge was too high in my less than important opinion and they won't let you pay for them with miles. Oh well, sardine class for me. At least I was able to get the section on the left side of the plane that only has two seats across!

 

Thanks again.